Parental Heritage
by Raptor 101
Summary: Have you ever wondered who were Touya's parents? Or Jin's for that matter? If you'd like to find out, this is my version of how the dynamic duo came to be.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho and I don't own any of its characters. I own the plot line, Ayame, and whoever else that doesn't have a place in the actual show. 

Oh yeah, this is my idea and story of whom Touya and Jin's parents were, not to mention why Riesho is such a dick in the show. Hopefully, you'll enjoy!

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For three hundred years the tiny community of humans remained undisturbed in their mountain homes. Their contact with the outside world was limited, and they lived very simply. Their survival of the harsh, subzero winters was dependent on the rugged hardy breed of sheep their forefathers had perfected and no one else knew about. The minute village was peaceful, built by loving hands, and tended to by loving hearts, seeming not to have a care for the outside world. But, as most tiny mountain villages do, it held a secret closely guarded and tightly kept.

This secret's name was Ayame.

Only the villagers knew why she was kept as such, and any outsiders that may have happened upon them could only wonder why her hair was a pale mint green color, and of to why her eyes were a clear, pupiless ice blue. Or why she hummed a nameless, foreign song while tending minor wounds or illness, or why she always only smiled when you asked her name. Indeed, this young lady was quite an oddity in the village, but the people had grown to adore and love her as one of their own. 

And for the years she had lived there, the good people kept her inhuman secret and relied on their powerful faith to keep it hidden.

But legends have their own way of coming true.

It had begun on the day a band of strangers came into town. There were seven of them; each dressed as if the cold did not touch them, each looking as if they were the very source of frostbite. Their faces were veiled, but their eyes spoke of subzero glares. The word 'demon' came upon many of the villagers tongues, and many had fled into their homes in the seven's wake, save but two. 

The village was led by an old man who was well into his winter years, but he stood straight and tall, jaw set and eyes as cold as the band's leader's. He went by the name of Spalding, and it was he that the leader stopped in front of to glare down at the girl standing next to him.

Ayame glared back, hands clenched around a crystalline staff that glowed a cold blue when light hit it. She moved protectively around to bar the stranger from Spalding and raised the staff into a ready position. There were no words spoken between them, but it occurred to the bigger man that she was not just a simple villager. Behind his pale veil, a grin broke across his lips when the staff was thrusted upwards in warning. 

So, this was the villager's secret.

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"You're lucky."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you weren't killed on the spot. It means that Master Touya has taken a liking to you."

"What would I want with him?"

"It's not what you would want. It's what he wants. You nearly beat him into his own snow bank. Not very many men have even come close, let alone a woman."

"You speak as if it's a rarity that the man needs his ass kicked."

"Oh, I'm not saying that his arrogance doesn't get annoying sometimes. You have to learn to just live with it eventually. Especially if you're going to be his mate."

Ayame stopped dead in her tracks with a large, exaggerated sigh. The young man she had been 'given into custody of' cocked an eyebrow and turned with a smirk.

"Something wrong, Mistress Ayame?" he asked innocently.

"I have said it once, and I will say it again as many times as need be. I will not, not now not ever, become that man's mate." She spat 'mate' out as if it had a foul taste. "I have a village to watch over. I don't need to be stuck by that ass's side for the rest of my life."

Kyra chuckled and shook his head. This Ice Maiden's personality was so contrary to the rest of her race that he couldn't help but take a liking to her. It was too bad that Touya already had claims over her, and he himself mated, or else he would have swept her off her feet the moment he saw her.

"Why am I being taken hostage, anyway?"

The question took the young Master a bit by surprise. He hadn't expected her to ask so soon.

"Don't consider it being taken hostage, Mistress Ayame. Look at it as you would an opportunity."

Ayame snorted and crossed her arms.

"An opportunity to do what? Be stuck with him until he's finished with me? Ha! I'd sooner kill the bastard and go to prison for murder than to be stuck with him."

"Mistress Ayame…"

"Oh for Kami's sake stop calling me that! I'm am nobody's 'Mistress'. If you must call me something, leave it at Ayame."

Kyra sighed.

"All right, Ayame it is. Now can we please get you back to the camp without any more stops? I may be an Ice Master but even I get cold."

Ayame reluctantly nodded and started up their short journey again, tired of trying to argue with Kyra. The man simply did not have enough sense to latch onto the bait she had just left right out in the open and run with it. She sighed inwardly. 

"Are all the Shinobi like you?" she asked absently. Kyra gave her a puzzled look out of the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean?"

"You know. Not having the sense enough to argue. No sense of humor. Frosty exterior that eludes to an empty head."

It was Kyra's turn to stop, this time giving her an all out confused look.

"What?" 

Ayame shook her head and sighed.

"Never mind."

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She gasped when another bucket of hot water was tipped over her head and sluiced down her bare body to join the rest of the hot water in the tub. Yui giggled when she saw Ayame's scowling reaction and set the bucket down to grab up a bottle of soap.

"Oh come now, it can't be that bad," she said in a light, humored voice. Ayame's scowl deepened.

"I can bathe myself, thank you very much," she growled, crossing her arms tightly over her breasts as the younger Maiden began to scrub soap into her hair. 

"Yes well, a girl as pretty as you needs to be at her prettiest when Lord Touya calls for her," Yui stated with a smile. "You're lucky, Ayame. I got stuck with Kyra as a mate. How do you think I feel being mated to a man who loves nothing else but to watch snowflakes fall?"

Ayame sighed grumpily and tried to count herself as lucky. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be lucky about in her mind. She had been taken from her village home because she seemed to be a 'suitable' mate for the good 'Lord'. Why he had even been anywhere near her village was beyond her, as she suspected it would until he saw reason fit to tell her. 

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Bastard, she thought with a faint growl. _The man has no honor! He never even asked me if I would like to go. Of course, had he actually asked I would have refused anyway, but the man remains to be seen as anyone I would have chosen for a mate._

Yui finished scrubbing Ayame's hair and poured another bucket of hot water over her head to rinse the suds away. Ayame didn't say another word, preferring to keep to her thoughts of what she'd like to do to this 'Lord Touya'. A small, devilish smile played across her lips when a particularly gruesome death came to mind.

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"You do realize that the girl could only slow us up in getting home, don't you."

Touya rolled his eyes at the statement and remained quiet, combing the mass of short, pale blue spikes that stuck out over his headband. Riesho shook his head at the Ice Lord's silence and crossed his arms.

"You're not making this journey any easier, Touya. The girl's going to slow down the entire band, I hope you know."

"The 'girl', as you refer to her as, will not slow us down any further than we already are. Why do you think I have chosen her as my mate?" Touya asked coolly, giving the younger Earth Master a slight glare. 

Riesho gave an inward shudder at the dark blue, icy stare, though he would never admit to himself that he was severely undercut in power by the Ice Master. It was only by coincidence and sheer bad luck that his small band of Earth Masters and Apprentices had fallen in with the Lord's clan of Ice Magicians. 

Still, the black haired man decided that outward questioning of the Lord's decision would be best.

"Are you seriously considering her to mother your heir?" he asked. "I would think that one thrust would break the poor girl."

"Our sex lives will be none of your concern, Master Riesho. What limited concern you will be allowed to have will surely not involve us or any whelp we may produce."

"And what if you do not produce?"

Lord Touya gave the Earth Master a firm, midnight blue glare before setting his comb down and turning to face Riesho fully. He stood roughly three inches taller than the greasy master did and he showed every inch of it when he folded his arms and looked down into Riesho's black eyes. Riesho paled and backed away a good three or four feet.

"You are doubting me, Riesho. That is not a wise thing to do. You forget what can freeze the very planet into a winter wasteland in a matter of minutes." Touya turned away and strode over to his tent door, turning and giving the lesser man a dark look. "You are not a Lord yet, Riesho. Remember that before you go challenging one."

When the Ice Lord left, Riesho's face turned toward a dark glare shot into the darkening evening. He raised a balled fist and his lip turned upwards into a snarl.

"You wait, Touya. Sooner or later, I will be."

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"So, how long have you been living in that village?"

"Most of my life."

"Have you never seen Koorime?"

"If I have, I don't remember it. All I remember is my mother bringing me to the village and leaving me there to help the people."

"Wow…what happened that you had to stay?"

"An illness. I helped to break it and waited for my mother to come get me."

"Did she ever?"

"I never saw her again."

"That must have been hard. Do you know what happened to her or her name? Maybe I can help."

"No, I don't know what happened to her. Her name was Ruri and I don't think you can help."

Yui sighed and gave the older Maiden a suffering look. There was no getting through Ayame's stubborn thinking, try as she might. Still, other Koorime Maidens were hard to come by outside of their homeland and Ayame was at least someone to talk to. Yui could name two other Maidens, but they had both left with the other half of the Lord's band, leaving her as the only female in the group. 

Ayame grunted when Yui pulled the ties on her new robes tighter. The Maiden had insisted on helping Ayame get dressed and comb her hair, much to the new comer's grumbling. She was tempted to call her staff to her and give the girl a good thump on the head for her endless probing for information. The truth was that Ayame knew exactly what happened to Ruri, and exactly why she had been left in the village, but Kami rest her soul if she ever told Yui that.

"Aren't you done yet?"

"Hm? Oh, one more tug and they should be tight enough."

"Good, because I – ACK!"

Yui gave the ties one last hard tug and quickly tied them together into a big bow at the small of Ayame's back. Ayame gasped at the sudden loss of oxygen and turned to give the girl a frown.

"Don't pull so hard without warning me next time!" she said, getting her breath back. Yui giggled.

"Sorry, Ayame. I won't tug that hard next time."

"I'll dress myself next time. That way, I won't have to worry about suffocating from my own clothes!"

Yui was about to reply when there was a knock at the door and Kyra's voice after it.

"Is it safe to come in?" he called. Yui sighed.

"Yes dear, it's safe to come in."

The door opened to reveal a very snowy Kyra, a large smile pasted across his lips and cyan blue eyes twinkling. It had started snowing heavily while Ayame was getting dressed, and now there was a good two inches of the stuff layered on the man's shoulders as he stepped through the door, breath steaming in the burst of cold air.

"Master Touya will see you now, Ayame," he said with a deep bow, snow falling from the mantle of his cloak to the floor.

"He'll just have to wait," Yui scowled, going over and pushing her mate out the door. "Ayame's hair isn't even combed yet and she has got to have shoes on her feet. Wait outside until I tell you she's ready."

Kyra blushed and mumbled a 'yes dear', and allowed himself to be shoved outside. Yui slammed the door shut behind him and shook her head.

"Honestly, I have to wonder if that man has any sense in his head at all," she said through a fond smile. "Now, lets get you a comb and some footwear, shall we?"


	2. Chapter 2

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Parental Heritage

Chapter 2

The Lord's wooden-sided, weather proofed tent loomed as a large shadow in the snowstorm. The two tents beside it, one on either side, weren't quite as big but still marked high ranking masters, both of whom served as Touya's bodyguards and advisors. The two tall, muscle bound men now stood outside the door, arms crossed and jaws set, eyeing Yui as she pulled the reluctant Ayame behind her.

"State your purpose, Maiden," one of them said. The other remained silent.

"I am delivering the Lord's new mate to his quarters," Yui replied, tugging on her charge's arm.

"DELIVERING?!" Ayame shouted, both appalled and shocked. She ripped her arm free of the other Maiden's grip and jerked her robe sleeves up. "What am I? THE MAN'S SUPPER?!"

Yui's blue eyes went wide and her hands flew to her mouth. The men's jaws dropped, shocked at the girl's utter lack of respect.

"Ayame, please-"

"Oh don't 'Ayame' me. Where is that Kami-forsaken pig? I've got an icicle to pick with him!"

"That 'Kami-forsaken pig' happens to be standing right behind you," came a deep voice. Ayame whirled around, her crystalline staff appearing in her hands as she set her sights on the Ice Lord himself. "If I were you, I would have more respect for me," he added, gripping the staff and swinging it away from his face.

"Respect? RESPECT?! How the hell do you want me to respect you when you yourself refuse to respect ME?!" The staff was jutted against his chin again, a pair of clear blue eyes glaring behind it. A point slowly began to form on the end of the staff, and Yui and the two men watched in amazement when the icy pole became a spear. Touya's eyebrows went up when the point was set right against his windpipe, and he chuckled as he ran a hand down the slick shaft.

"Going to kill me, my Lily of Ice?" he asked smoothly, challenging her glare with a humored glint. "Or do you wish to know why I was in your village first?"

The girl's glare remained, but the urge to find out the details got her mind kicked into gear. She gave him a curt nod and lowered her spear, which was melting back into a staff and slowly disappearing. At a short wave of the Lord's hand, Yui and his guards disappeared. Touya strode to his tent flap and pushed it aside, turning to give Ayame an expectant look. She sneered and marched in, part of her staff now a slim ice dagger in her hand. 

"Make it good, Touya."

"Oh, believe me, Ice Lily, I will."

"You can stop calling me that right now."

Despite the Lord's cold exterior, the tent was cozy against the oncoming winter night. A fire burned in a small stove in the middle of the large room, its heat somehow making it to even the furthest corners. The tent itself was only the one room, with a thick canvas curtain sectioning off a large bedroll and a small bedside table. Several rugs covered the cold floor and, to Ayame's invisible relief, a tray with two cups and a steaming teapot sat on a side table next to the fire. She had gotten cold after she called her staff, a disadvantage when using her spirit energy in a weapon creation, though she avoided showing any outward signs of being so.

Two straight-back chairs, one with an ice blue tasseled throw blanket over it, stood at ready next to the table. Touya pulled the blanketed one out and motioned for Ayame to sit, which she refused to do.

"I will not sit and act like this was a well to do tea party," she spat. "I came in here to find out why you took me from my home, and what you were doing in my village in the first place."

Touya raised an eyebrow and sighed, sitting in the other chair and reaching for the teapot with a smirk.

"You're home is on Koorime, Ice Lily."

"Don't call me that, and I've never seen Koorime. My home was with the villagers, taking care of them whenever they needed it. It was my duty and my place and now-"

"Your duty and place, Ayame, is with me and the rest of the Ice clan now. Your home is Koorime, no matter how long you spent in that miserable village."

Ayame's eyes narrowed at the interruption and mockery of her village. She was about to retort when Touya held a hand up in warning.

"Do not test me. I am not going to tolerate your behavior. You will do as I say when I say it from now on. Your orders will not come from anyone else and you are not to listen to anyone else. You will stay here unless told to do otherwise, and you will sleep in my bed, with me, unless told otherwise. Do you understand, Lily?"

Her jaw dropped at the open display of arrogant forcefulness. She was stunned momentarily, unable to speak, and she would have fallen to her knees had her rebellious side not told her it'd be submission. Instead, Ayame settled for a snapping closing of her mouth and a heated scowl aimed for the Lord's forehead.

"I understand perfectly. I am to be a silent slave for your pleasure, is that right? Well, my Lord, there are a couple things that you should know. One, I don't take orders from anyone. Two, I am not your mate and three, I want my own tent as far away from you as possible. If I am to be stuck here with your arrogant ass, I might as well be halfway comfortable."

Touya looked up, the one eyebrow still perched right below his headband.

"And if I don't give it to you?"

"You can bet your lordship that I'll make your life a living icy hell. I am not to be disrespected either, Touya."

"Ayame?"

"What?"

"You're very pretty when you're making a demand, you know that?"

Ayame stopped dead in her words with her mouth hanging open like a gutted frozen fish. Then, she blushed crimson and gave the Lord the hardest scowl she could muster.

"And your looks are best compared with those of an octopus pike!" She turned with a hiss and stormed out of the tent with a whip of the flap. Lord Touya chuckled and placed his half-empty teacup down on the tray.

"An octopus pike? Well now, that's a comparison I've never heard before."

Yui watched as Ayame paced back and forth along the back of the tent, hands clasped behind her back and sputtering as she fumed. Yui had to admit, the girl knew how to land a good insult.

And she supposed that it didn't help that her new friend never got an answer to her question, either.

"That good for nothing arrogant frozen ass! Who does he think he is?! KAMI?! MAY HE FREEZE TO DEATH FROM HIS OWN FROSTBITE!!"

"I suggest you keep your voice down, Ayame," Yui said when the Maiden went red in the face. "There are Apprentices trying to sleep for tomorrow night."

"Keep my voice down? What for?! This way, the WHOLE CAMP can know how I feel about their so called LEADER!"

No matter how the younger Maiden tried to calm the older down, Ayame continued to fume over the current Ice Lord's controlling and arrogant ways. Yui had tried to explain countless times that he was indeed Lord around here, but the other wouldn't hear of it. Kyra had even tried his hand at calming her down but he got a staff to the stomach and kicked out the door for it.

Ayame finally stopped her pacing and plopped down on the couple's bed, flattening her palms against the sides of her head with her eyes squeezed shut. Yui wasn't sure if it was safe to approach, but decided that a hug would be the best way to soothe the angry girl. When she went over to put her arms around Ayame, however, she received a surprise when the forced mate plunged her head into Yui's arms and began to sob. The clatter of Ayame's tear gems against the cold ground sounded like hail on a wooden roof, and the girl's sobs the howling wind that drove it.

"I…I just…don't…" the captive attempted. Yui shushed her and held her tighter, stroking her hair from reflex and comfort.

"Ssshhhh…you're going to be fine, Ayame. Don't let him get to you, all right?"

"How…how can I not let him get to me?" Ayame replied with a sniffle. "I don't get why I had to be his mate. Why not someone else?" She almost broke down again but she blinked back her tears and continued. "Why couldn't it have been some other girl?"

"Because 'some other girl' wouldn't be much of a challenge, now would she?" Yui responded with a soft smile. "Ayame, you must understand that Lord Touya is one of the most powerful Shinobi lords right now, whether you acknowledge that fact or not. Even amongst the most talented Ice Masters that serve under him, there is not one who has a spark of rebellious streak in him. He obviously saw a challenge in you that he had never seen before. You should be proud, Ayame. No one else has enough guts and willpower to stand up to him like you did."

At this point, Ayame's sobs had quieted and left her altogether. She sat with her head pressed against Yui's breast, staring absently at the small fortune in tear gems that now littered the floor. She sniffed and rubbed her nose, sat up, and gave Yui an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Yui," she said miserably.

"There's no need to be sorry, dear. Just…be careful when you're with the Lord. He won't kill you if you get too out of hand, but someone else might."

Unbeknownst to the two women, a tall man with black hair had stopped to listen in on their conversation, frowning slightly and then smirking when Ayame had started sobbing. He listened when Yui told her that it was going to be all right, and he chuckled softly when the last words left Yui's lips.

"Yes, someone might indeed try it," Riesho said with a dark look. "But the question is, who?"

A few days after the news of the incident between Touya and Ayame spread throughout camp in a tidal wave of chuckles, the orders were given to pack up and head out. Most of the Apprentices that had traveled with them had finally passed their final steps of Mastery and it was time to head back home. Numerous cheers were set up after Touya proclaimed them true Masters, and after a great deal of partying and merrymaking, the first few tents were taken down and packed onto several sleek dogsleds. When Ayame asked Kyra what the sleds were pulled by, he gave her a grin and pulled out a harness the size of a pony's.

"These are pulled by our Snow Wolves. They've been prowling around camp and keeping intruders at bay, which is why you've never seen them before. As you can see," He held up the harness, "they're fairly big animals. It takes only one to pull a loaded sled with passengers. You'll be riding with Master Touya, of course, so when they've been called back to camp, I suggest making friends with his as soon as possible."

"Why is that?"

"Because Master Touya's is the alpha male of the pack, and has been since the pack was first formed. Once you gain his trust, no one will ever get close enough to hurt you."

"That's reassuring. I think." Ayame looked off towards the rest of the camp or, at least, what was left of it. The few tents that remained upright were in the process of getting cleaned out and their contents put onto sleds. Tent canvases were pulled taught over the various items and lashed down with thick rope, the leather traces and harnesses oiled and shined to a brilliant glow. Each of the sleds was as big as a horse cart and each were adorned with a saddle like seat that branched off the back runners. Ayame noticed with a scowl that Touya's sled, much like Kyra and Yui's, had a second seat installed in front of his meant for a passenger.

_Me, in other words,_ she thought with a huff. 

At nightfall, all the tents were taken down and packed away and everyone was ready to go. Ayame noticed for the first time that there was a different group of demons with them and when she asked, Touya gave her a disdained explanation.

"Those are Earth Masters and Apprentices," he said with a gruff tone. "Unfortunately, they have to travel back with us so their main band can come get them. They're lead by a Master by the name of Riesho. Stay away from him, and his band, at all costs."

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"He wants to see me stripped of my power and killed."

"What's so bad about that?"

Touya gave the Maiden a warning look and Ayame gave it right back plus a grin. He was going to respond had Kyra not shown up and saluted him.

"Sir, we're ready to call the Wolves in," he said quickly, out of breath. Yui had obviously sent him on the run. Touya gave the man a dismissal nod and gave his troublesome 'mate' a 'we'll continue this later' look. He then turned and went to stand in front of his silver-lined, ice blue sled to take a deep breath and put his fingers to his lips.

The ear-splitting whistle ricocheted off of the mountainsides and made Ayame clamp her hands over her ears. The echo faded off, and she thought that nothing was going to happen until a lone, long, chilling howl arose from the forest beyond the valley. Touya nodded in approval and went to pick up the harness attached to his sled.

"READY YOUR TRACES!" he boomed as another howl overtook the first. There was a scurry to pick the harnesses up as yet another wolf song joined the second. Ayame wasn't quite sure what was happening until the fourth howl sounded just beyond the tree line. Then, to her amazement, a large pack of gigantic, pure white wolves came bounding out into the deep snow. Their leader sounded another cry and leapt ahead, his long and lithe form creating a spray of snow as he charged forward.

They kept coming faster and faster until Ayame was sure that they weren't going to stop. She backed up, ready to call her staff, and began to tremble as the lead wolf seem to zero in on her and go yet faster. 

Then, before she could blink, the entire pack came to a screeching halt, creating a miniature blizzard as the snow spray hit the awaiting demons. There was a flurry of excitement and activity then, and many happy calls to the pack like they were old friends. The leader had slowed down and now trotted to each Snow Wolf, touching noses as if making sure everyone had made it. When he made sure that each Wolf had a sled, he gave himself a good shake and trotted over to the last wolf-less sled. Touya's.

"Ayame, this is Solitaire," he said as he patted the Wolf's nose. "The alpha male and leader of his pack."

Ayame did a quick study on the huge beast, noting that when he sat, his head was level with the Lord's shoulder and he was missing an eye. The other, a gold brown in color, was trained on her with an almost curious gaze.

"Solitaire? Why'd you name him that?"

The corner of Touya's mouth pulled into a smirk as he went to harness 'Solitaire'.

"I named him that because it's my favorite card game. You may call him Solo for short, if you wish."

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Only he would name an animal after a card game, the Maiden thought with a scowl. She gave the great white beast another studious look over and then went to stand in front of him, hands on her hips. Solo licked one corner of his mouth and bent his head down, leveling his gaze with hers. Ayame recalled Kyra's advice and allowed the Wolf to sniff her over. When he was done, he put his nose right in her face and quirked his ears. Ayame was puzzled.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, somewhat hesitant.

"He wants you to pat his nose," Touya replied. "He's decided that you're safe and mean no harm. Now he wants to be friends, more or less."

"Um, okay." Ayame tentatively reached a hand out and gave Solo's muzzle a soft pat. He responded by pressing his nose into her hand and giving her a small lick. Touya had stopped harnessing Solo and watched with a bit of a curious and surprised look.

"I've never seen him take to someone that quick. You're a better find than I thought."

"I should have stayed unfound," Ayame shot back. Touya gave her a challenging grin before he called out the next orders.

"HARNESS UP AND BE READY TO GO IN TEN MINUTES!"

The Maiden shook her head and gave up on ever outwitting the Ice Lord. _But,_ she thought with a secret smile, _that doesn't mean I have to give up on being a thorn in his ass._


End file.
